Canada: Fund allocation for Hog Farm Transition Program completed

Allocation of funds for the Hog Farm Transition Program (HFTP) has been completed effective January 31, 2011. Payments to program participants will continue as barns are closed and paperwork is finalized. Barns must remain closed for a period of at least three years after depopulation.

The depopulation deadline set out in the funding agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is March 31, 2011. Random monitoring will continue until March 31, 2014, three years after the last participating barns are emptied.

The $75 million HFTP, funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and administered by the Canadian Pork Council, successfully allocated funds to assist 455 producers across Canada to exit the hog business. In total, it is expected that barn capacity for 126,765 sows, 263,857 weaners and 446,909 market hogs will be taken out of production when all barns are emptied.

The HFTP was implemented to assist Canadian hog producers address a market faced with low hog prices, high feed grain costs and a strong Canadian dollar. The program was designed to help return the industry to a level of production that is more sustainable in domestic and international markets. To help facilitate an orderly transition to these new market realities, the HFTP provided payments to Canadian hog producers who agreed to set aside production in all barns for three-year period.

The program offered funding through four tenders held between November 2009 and March 2010. Since the final tender of March 10 2010 closed, the program continued to allocate funds as a result of producers either withdrawing voluntarily or being disqualified for not meeting program terms and conditions. This residual allocation process resulted in 69 producers receiving funding of $12.5 million over 13 rounds, January 13, 2011 being the most recent.

The Canadian Pork Council serves as the national voice for hog producers in Canada. A federation of nine provincial pork industry associations, our organization’s purpose is to play a leadership role in achieving and maintaining a dynamic and prosperous Canadian pork sector.